Sacrifice
by Alex Trabia
Summary: This story does not claim to say good things about fate- however, the human condition is sometimes one of choice. Persona 3 fanfiction based on the events ten years previous to the game...
1. Chapter 1

"Sacrifice" - Chapter 1

"An Afternoon with Death"

The twist of fate this story details has very little in the way of saying good things about fate. Usually, one's fate is insubstantial, arriving only at the right moment to teach valuable life lessons that stand the test of time (or don't) and filling one's heart with purpose. This particular fate, however, happened to one who was just 6 years old, incapable of defining his existence in such a way. He did not have all that much say in what his fate was, either- instead, Minato Arisato's life was, with or without his consent, offered.

--

It was a pleasant spring afternoon in front of Iwatodai elementary school, with students, short and tall, exiting excitedly. Another day of boredom had suddenly turned into a space of infinite possibilities. Some decided to go to the arcade, others decided they would go to the playground, and yet others merely followed their friends to wherever they happened to be going. There was one boy, however, who did not share any of these traits. He did not spend time with his friends today.

His youthful features were graced with a small smile, and his body was robed in a black vest and a white undershirt, followed by mildly dressy black pants and dress shoes. Behind him was a dark blue backpack, just his size, filled with as little in the way of contents as he could get away with. Equally dark blue was his hair, done in a way that sat on his head comfortably short.

Minato Arisato was excited, because today was one of the few and sporadic days his parents were home for the day. Usually when he went home from school, the house was largely empty, and he fed himself until they came back sometime after eight, wearied. They would give him his actual dinner, which they bought along the way, and go to bed. This had started with the advent of their new job- they worked eight to eight at a lab, at a location which Minato did not know (otherwise he might have gone there to visit after school sometimes).

Usually on days like that, Minato would wander around town, then take an extensive nap (by far his favorite activity). With the advent of bad weather, he would study, draw pictures, or write. Young Minato couldn't help but notice that this had been going on for a good three months- it was getting hard living without his parents, knowing they were going someplace they found so tiring.

They were home today, though. He considered running there.

--

The disappointment settled when he actually entered. The television was on in the living room, where he saw father, but mother was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she was at the store, perhaps in another room. Minato happily hopped onto the couch, but was not rewarded with the attention he desired- just a weak "Welcome home, Minato," a rather hearty yawn, followed by the television show continuing. Of course, despite having over 9,000 channels, there was nothing on... his father was just channel flipping uselessly, with a deadened look on his face.

Minato never found the television particularly satisfying, so, distractedly, he walked away from the couch. As he passed the bathroom, a form was carefully wielding a mascara brush, taking great care and making short, gentle sweeps. Minato found himself entranced with his mother for a moment... however, he was unnoticed, and he walked toward his room in dejection.

He would lay his backpack on the floor, hopping on and turning over on his bed, found sleep more satisfying than the presence of his parents.

--

The dreams would be, of course, times past where he actually enjoyed their presence... games they would play, laughter they would share... the enjoyment of each other's company. Happiness was paramount to these dreams. Just because times weren't as perfect back then didn't matter, because in his dreams, there was little except the pleasantness of perfection.

This dream was different, however. A foreboding feeling pervaded him, even as the baseball flew back and forth. His failure to find joy in it perturbed him. Then, he realized very quickly just why he felt that way.

Hidden just beneath the earth, buried, there was a round, metallic half-ball. Two holes were engraved on either side, eyes, and it looked almost like there was a point; a nose of a face. It was pointing in his direction. As the baseball fell into his glove... he approached it.

The world around him was suddenly surrounded by a horde of people he'd never met- they all had dazed looks on their faces, some even drooling in the infinite abyss of their minds. They scared him... but what scared him the most was that the ground beneath him was rocking, shaking. A hand would rise from the ground- a black, ethereal hand clawing upward. Minato looked toward his father- and his father was walking toward it. There was a smile on his face. "Don't worry, Minato... we must go, else they are doomed.."

He was running- it had a human-like appearance, but it was much bigger, and it was faceless. The black body was only altered by its skirt, sword, and the collection of white coffins with crosses on them, surrounding it like a shield. His parents were waving at him, smiling. "See you, Minato." They would say... before disappearing. Minato could remember nothing after that but the extreme shock... the jamming loneliness of the black and eternal nothing which he was now faced toward.

So he left them behind, forward into darkness.

--

He was awake with a start, tears crawling down his eyes, a paralysis having taken the gift of movement from him. He knew that his parents did not enjoy his company anymore. Neither did they enjoy the company of anyone else. One night, his parents had a visitor- an old friend to congratulate them on their new job just a few weeks after it had started. He was told, after they went to bed late chatting, to answer the door for his parents, and tell any visitors that they were working late, and wouldn't be back until 11.

"It's past visiting hours- we don't want to see anyone..." That's what they told him.

Minato, however, couldn't imagine life without the few friends he'd met at school. Neither, could he imagine life without wanting his parents. Conflict turned to action; and he decided he would do something about it.

--

Minato was not the type to sit down and accept a bad fate. The young boy had proved this on a number of occasions already- disobedience to his overly cruel teacher who decided to reprimand a student for something he did not do, numerous occasions where he stole items when he was three because he did not have them, numerous self-treated black eyes as he stood up to bullies, among other representationsof his inability to accept suffering of any sort.

It was with this in mind that he forced the remote out of his father's hands, quickly turning the television off. His father would find this shocking- the choking silence of his house had just been interrupted. Minato's arms crossed as he turned his body around to face his father, and with a scowl on his face he _almost_ stated his case quite plainly.

At least he would have, had he not been interrupted by the plain fact that he heard his mother crying in the kitchen, her hands trembling on a phone, held tightly and close to her ear, followed by a shout of epic proportions when she dropped to the ground.

"No! Why...?"

--

Minato did not notice it in his hasty passage from bedroom to living room, but it was raining outside, as if the sky itself were moaning his situation. Was it because of the news, that grandfather had died? Though his parents tried to hide what death was from him, he was very aware of death's existence. Though he did not know about it until his mother broke the news, it was quite fitting, he decided. Death, though not well liked, was necessary for new beginnings. This profound fact seemed to be hardwired into Minato's brain.

They spent the remainder of an hour on his parent's bed, weeping and holding each other. It was the closest he'd felt to his parents in a long time. He told them about how lonely it had been, and how he was afraid he would never really hang out with them ever again. They were very sorry- they had forgotten all about their lives outside their work. Minato almost asked them to quit their work... but unfortunately, he knew that was impossible, as was asking them to be perfectly happy every time they came back from work. It seemed like nothing had changed.

So instead, he soaked up this collection of little moments... he ate a home-cooked meal, the first in a long time. His mother wasn't used to cooking, though she was very careful, and the food tasted better than anything they'd ever brought home (Minato attributed it to TLC). Dad played with him for the first time in 3 months. And that very night, the three of them did what Minato usually did when he got home: They all slept in the same bed.

It was a moment he would remember and cherish... for a very, very long time to come.

--

_The next morning..._

Minato's mother stared hard at the card she drew for the present spot of the standard three-card spread. This was, more than anything else, a reaffirmation that the Tarot really were all that she thought of them... for she had drawn the thirteenth card; Death. The card somehow comforted her.. making her believe there was a higher force there for her protection. So, she decided to place it in her purse.

The irony of this situation was striking- for the card, usually associated with the death required for something new to arrive, would instead be the death of her and her husband.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sacrifice" - Chapter 2

"The Revelation of Death"

The twist of fate this story details has very little in the way of saying good things about fate. Usually, one's fate is insubstantial, arriving only at the right moment to teach valuable life lessons that stand the test of time (or don't) and filling one's heart with purpose. The fate of this being, whose cold steel shell determined much of what she was forced to do, may have taught lessons, but she still received no purpose, just an echo within an artificial soul aching for the day when she would become real, as well as the presence of the boy whom she owed an infinite debt. It would become a long time coming until she received her Answer.

--

Being idle provided an interesting feeling. This was not sleep- she was still somewhat functional and able to react to stimuli if need be. What she knew about this feeling was that she still felt... alive. She couldn't think, but she was aware of... something. She did tell her creators this fact, but they dismissed it, as certain functions within her must always be running continuously in order to keep Aigis from malfunctioning. She did not accept this answer, however. This was certainly an odd thing for a robot to be doing, but she somehow knew that feeling relied on her belief in it.

This thought crossed her mind while she stared at the balding old man whom was her boss and her master... the owner of the Kirijo group, who was currently staring into the contents of a tiny black book that looked like it had been buried for ages. Apparently, its binding was made of carved human teeth, its cover and inside pages made of human skin, and its writing was made with blood. It did not disgust her master; instead, he was looking at it almost bereft of emotion save one tiny smirk she noticed on his right side of his lips. The look didn't instill any particular recognition within Aigis' database, but Aigis was a mere year old, and hadn't learned the myriad ways a human could express him or herself by moving his or her face.

"Aigis, make a note: the key ingredient I was missing was the most obvious one. Damn this infernal book- I've never been the greatest in Latin, but there's no one I can trust..."

Aigis nodded. "Note taken: the key ingredient I was missing was the most obvious one. Damn this-"

"No, no, no! Stop. I keep forgetting you need exact notes. Delete that."

Aigis nodded, and remained stiff where she was.

"Note: I am missing ingredient thirteen - Death." The old man blinked... and grinned happily. He knew in his mind, now, what he'd been missing all along. All this experimenting with the shadows had led him to this obvious thought, but nothing in his scientific mind could comprehend why they aligned so strongly with the Tarot. It didn't matter, though. Now, he had the key.

"Note taken. I am missing ingredient thirteen - Death. It has been registered as note number four-hundred and thirty six." Aigis's blank blue eyes continued to stare at him, unthinking while her master plotted and thought, all so that she might please him more.

"So, Aigis, it's time again that we exercise that little neural network of yours. You know better than anyone what my plan is- do you think it's the right thing to do?"

Aigis stood there, inert and barely thinking- right thing to do...? What did he mean? It was something her master wanted to do, therefore it was "right." Perhaps this answer would please him?

"I think that it is what master wishes to do- it is therefore right."

"You're wrong, Aigis. You cannot simply say that something another person wants to do is right. Otherwise this world would be one of infinite possibilities- which it is not, and never will be. You're missing the point, as well. Do _you _think it is right, I wasn't asking what I think. Take some time outside the office- I have much to work on."

The old man's hands lowered down to a pieceof paperwork with a pen, and wrote his final hypothesis in his most secret lab journal. Aigis, taken her master's heed, would exit the office in order to think.

--

The lab was a wonder of late-90's construction that would never be revealed to the public. Not only was it hidden completely on top of a school, it was built on an artificial island that belonged to the Kirijo Group. It was off-limits to inspectors, since the island was, for all practical intents and purposes, a sovereign nation. This ruling had a background of bickering and bribes being passed back and forth, but ultimately it was in the Group's favor, not only because taxes were still being paid to Japan herself, but also because of the Group's immense political draw.

As such, Aigis could wander the immaculate white halls without revealing her presence. For, if the world knew a fully thinking android were walking and thinking as much as she, there would be a flurry of chatter. She was partially a cyborg, with neural network very similar to (including some parts of) a human brain, capable of complex emotion and reasoning. Not only this, though she was shaped like a human, she had within her weaponry- her fingertips popped open to reveal 9mm Uzis, and just beneath her neck was an Evoker, capable of summoning a Persona under the right circumstances. Her creators remarked: a most deadly weapon in a delicate-looking shell.

Not only that, but she also had the memory of a computer. One could tell her something, and four years later if you gave her the note code of what you told her, she could repeat your words verbatim.

All in all, Aigis was a useful construct on the team... but the part that nobody seemed to notice was that Aigis was capable of self-driven thought. This in itself made her the most valuable, and powerful, computer man had ever created. Yet the ones who built her had long ago lost their excitement, deciding they would instead move onto new projects. They were the paramount of genius in computing, yet they had no common sense and little contact with her, and thus ignored that which was old.

So she found herself alone, both in her mind, and in the halls which she walked.

--

_What, exactly, do I think is right?_ Aigis blinked some, shaking her head. For all this time, she'd never thought like that. Her thinking was strictly limited to examining the data she had been provided by others; input by her master, or other scientists. She also thought tactically, for she was the one who entered the Abyss of Time to collect research samples. In essence, she was a computer, albeit highly advanced and capable of emotive thought (despite the fact she had not done so, so far)**.**

_Summarized data of master's plan: he intends to summon an entity known as "Thanatos," who is an agent of a being known as "Death." "Thanatos" is the "herald" of something known as "the end," presumably the end of all life on the planet Earth. In ancient history, "Thanatos" could not have been summoned, because he presumably did not exist, but as recorded in the _Necronomicon _a number of highly acclaimed prophets interspersed throughout time have stated that he will come to life due to our efforts. A single being, presumably the summoner of Thanatos, is said to be turned into the god of the land that comes after "the end." _

That was where her thinking stopped. _"The end" of all life on earth... does that mean me, too?_

And then, her body stopped. _The... the end of everyone I know... my creators... all the scientists here... all of them are completely unaware of master's plan. Therefore, as I am allowed to think so, I think what he is doing is wrong. They should at least have warning that they are going to die... shouldn't they?_

Yet still she doubted herself just a little, but regardless of this, she found herself returning to the office of her pudgy-faced master with a great deal of excitement. This was the first real thought she had had in her year of life.

--

He still held the grin while he did some extraneous reading related to the subject at hand. He expected she wouldn't be back all night, thinking, but finding some fatal flaw in disobeying her 'master.' She was a weak-willed robot, and that was all she would ever be. He snickered, glad to have found a moment where he was fleetingly glad of his humanity.

It only took her five minutes to come to a true conclusion, however, which surprised him to no end- for she immediately burst into the office, smiling like a child, pointed a finger at him and said: "Master, I think you are wrong. So far, you have not told anyone else in this base what your plan is, even though your plan very much involves them. So far, every plan has been run by everyone who must be involved in said plan, and this is a major deviation from that."

"Aigis... do you want me to tear out the thinking portion of your body?"

"If master so wishes to do so..."

Kirijo leaned forward, his hands curled together, and his eyes examining her thoughtfully. "That's what makes you different from everyone around you, Aigis. You don't care about your body- however, deep down inside, everyone else around you does. If I told them of my plan, they would surely try to stop me somehow. Therefore, you must not tell them of the notes I've labeled as 'top secret.' Understood?"

"Yes, master... but, if 'the end' refers to the end of all life on earth, then... why do you wish this?" Aigis seemed very puzzled, eyes less focused as her brain worked on this fuzzy problem. Compounded by this was the fact that this was the first "why" question she had ever asked! This moment was pivotal to her growth as a self.

Kirijo smiled... shaking his head. "You couldn't understand. Go to your room, Aigis."

Aigis frowned, nodded reluctantly and turned around. Walking out was painful, for her head was still full of questions, for she was now questioning all she had ever done. After so long of being locked in a cage of analytical thought, philosophical thought came rushing like a torrent. The simple word "why" had caused a chain reaction that would never be extinguished- however, Kirijo didn't think much of it. Instead, he would muse on the "danger of leading children on" and continue his reading. He had much work to do- he had to be absolutely sure of his coming actions, one of which included sabotaging Aigis' power feed tonight.

Open in front of him was the file of a woman with the last name "Arisato." A hit man would, tonight, sacrifice her father for the greater good that was Kirijo. A death for a new beginning.

--

As Aigis laid down in her charging unit, she still could not rest. Though her entire body was shut down, that feeling... that feeling of something there, something alive, was stronger than ever. For the first time ever, she would dream- and her dream was of Thanatos, his mighty jaw raised and his sword slashing in half her master- a dream that would inspire a great rage inside of her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sacrifice" - Chapter 3

"Death's Mighty Roar"

The twist of fate this story details has very little in the way of saying good things about fate. The many sacrifices which were sealed due to prophets of old had come to pass, and many more would result... however, the fate of one young boy, the one being who was given a choice in the events detailed here, was perhaps the greatest sacrifice bound by fate, and the greatest avatar of free will all tied in the same collection of flesh and mind. It is his beginning, and his end, which are epics.

--

"Energy X106, next." The man who was Minato Arisato's father stood, leaning at the tabletop and staring at a small, black-colored creature who seemed to be irritated, stuck in a small glass bubble. It had, long ago, attempted to shatter the glass and escape, but it realized the futility of the effort within the period of a day. The glass was a reinforced variety that wouldn't melt in the heart of a nuclear explosion, and therefore a fist was a piece of cake.

Minato's mother stood on an elevated platform on the other side of the immaculately white and brightly lit room, unmarred by anything except a sliding metallic door on nearby. In her hands was a screw-on head for a machine arm that extended from the ceiling. Attached to this head was a slip of odd-colored paper, presumably a filter of some sort. As she attached this machine, she sighed as it moved away, bored, looking at the computer terminal in front of her.

"This job makes me feel so tired... it's only been an hour since our last break, yet the fatigue never seems to stop. I know it's mostly an effect of the artificial Abyss of Time we've put up, but..."

The man looking at the shadow shook his head. "Best not to think about it. If you do, it only makes you want to take a break. Remember what Kirijo is doing for us, honey- it's very important that we do this."

"I know this is the only way we'll repay our debt to them, and they were very kind to ensure our financial success as well as Minato's education, but still, don't you think this is a little much? Minato seemed so sad last night, and I could tell it wasn't because my father died..." She then shuddered, the memory of that weak time just yesterday... how was it that she didn't feel like weeping?

Her eyes turned to the shadow. It was looking at her.

"U-um... it's looking at me."

He'd been staring at her, wanting to comfort her... but then she mentioned that the shadow was looking at her. Not only that, but it seemed to be changing...

--

The shadow lurked.

Even in the confines of this disgusting glass cage it lurked, and that was its purpose. For it hungered eternally for the one food that was scarce in its existence- raw human emotion, and because the easiest emotion to get was the fear of one's death, why not kill?

Those outside the glass cage would never understand. All their tests would amount to nothing- for nothing physical would touch the shadow. The only thing that could harm a shadow was another shadow, or a shadow warped within the psyche of another aiding the physical force behind an object.

However, the lurking would stop for a moment. There was a call from something eternal- a mind that echoed its own.

The call came from the platform... and then he saw it. It was behind her head... a dark mass, attaching itself to something... something flat.

A card. It read: XIII - Death.

--

Her thoughts would turn backward for a moment as her body lay transfixed with the Shadow. Her mind felt foggy- what was it that she was trying to do a little earlier? Her father, dead, left her behind- that was all she could think of now. It was so disgusting, this world of flesh and bone- she merely wished to be asleep for all eternity with her father, and... she somehow got the feeling that the world felt the same way. Sleep was the epitome of perfection- and eternal sleep could be the only heaven humanity could receive.

"T-take... me..." She whispered out, holding her arms with her hands at her sides and curling, the torment everlasting as the dark matter behind her head, behind the card, began glimmering blacker than night itself...

--

Kirijo smiled as he walked into the room. It was just as the book foretold. He loved it when his work was done for him. As he walked into the small lab room, he ignored the two scientists, the male of which was up on the platform attempting to shake his wife out of something that was un-shakeable.

Little did she or Kirijo know, she was in the grip of Erebus; the coalesced malicious feelings of all whom wished the world to end.

"What did you do to her?!" He would dismiss the yell with nothing more than a wave of his hand, looking up at the man on the platform.

"Shut up, you short-sighted fool. You don't know what's really going on, nor will you ever. Today, I become a god! This most secret undertaking is the culmination of human achievement." He'd grin maniacally, his pudgy face folding. He slowly took a pair of sound-canceling earphones, placing them over his head, and walking toward the shadow in its glass case.

"Your sacrifices will not be in vain..." He smiled in triumph.

Whispers shook through the air, vibrating the entire laband rocking the ground as a great change overtook the shadow. Researchers found their psyches weakened and stripped away; they would lay on the ground, babbling incoherently, their minds full of the thoughts they had in times past where they were weak and hoped for an end to the monotony of everyday life, finding very little solace in that darkness.

The shadow within its cage shook and violently attempted to escape his fate, for the shadow, a creature of mere thought, was to be erased for something far greater. Emerging from its mouth was a metallic jaw... and its thin body became more humanoid. Despite the glass's great strength, it quickly shattered in the wake of the creature that was to become Thanatos.

The woman who was Minato's mother was now just a shell, floating in the air then dropping, mouth gaping wide open while the darkness seeped from her brain. She was white and pallid, and very much deadened inside.

And yet, in an act of love, the father of Minato Arisato took his wife, cradling her. He began to run out; able to ignore the whispers which rocked him as he held what used to be her body in his arms as the little reality of this laboratory began to change for the worse.

--

Enter Eiichiro Takeba, a man with a perpetual worried look on his face. Today, he found himself at a loss. Standing there, reading the small black book within his boss's office, as well as the... "experiment log of the facility"... he was suddenly and blatantly told everything that he hadn't known but wished he had so long ago. He was suspicious from the outset, ever since Kirijo had ranted to him for an hour straight about too much ambition and not shooting too high. Eiichiro had asked too many questions, he'd presumed, but that was in his nature.

And yet... he? A hero? That was nonsense. He was merely a normal man in a situation that begged him to do something that could very well save the world. More importantly to him, however, it would guarantee his daughter's right to life. The act which would do this was so simple. He had no other choice, either, because the lab was due to lock down now.

His boss' death was not explicitly stated, yet he knew from just reading this book that Thanatos would kill him. It was a mistake he noticed in Kirijo's Latin- he mistook many words, and perhaps even more embarrassing, he didn't make notes by the end of the book, presumably not having read it.

Eiichiro would curse the day he took this job... But just then, the entire world seemed to get darker... the immaculately white walls darkening, and the power going completely out even with the shielded equipment. He would walk out of the office, staring into the room across. Therein lied the shadow of the Hanged Man; much compressed into a small glass tube.

"My... even the Arcana is fitting for my situation..." He'd sigh... and get to work preventing the Fall.

After his deed was done, he decided, he would leave a final videotape for his daughter using the video camera that he saw was working in Kirijo's comparatively opulent office.

--

The beginnings of the great herald Thanatos were coming into being. A nearly complete form would not be enough, however. The call which drew the other twelve to it was failing because one Shadow was seemingly set loose. The shadow of the Hanged Man had been set free, and was now chasing down its brothers and sisters to free them. Sooner or later, its control would be loosed. Enraged, Thanatos quickly stopped its failing attempts.

Thanatos was awaken... in a much smaller form, its energetic body vaporizing the glass which once held it.

Its power was still absolute despite its incompleteness, however. As it stood there, carrying a vorpal blade worthy of its name, burning and melting the instruments with its body of loose and uncontrolled energy, and adjusting the chain around its shoulders, it knew very little except its drawing urge- and the fact there was one who ignored the great and terrible whispers, and he stood without fear before it. Its stare looked downward.

"Thanatos! Make me my new world... ascend me to godhood!"

It knew not what he said, for this was a creature beyond language. He dealt in calls, in announcements, in triumph. The call which drew him here was terrible, clear, and wordless...

_Everyone in my way to Tartarus and my missing pieces must die._

The sword raised.

A look of pure fear.

Blood was spilt.

This irony was perhaps the most fitting fate for one so foolish as to toy with powers beyond his understanding.

The shadows which were the interest of Thanatos eventually all became free despite being hunted and tore through the lab. They killed innocents and attacked each other chaotically, and yet when Thanatos approached them, they fled, knowing that should his great and terrible psyche get a hold of them, they would be no more. Their ultimate purpose was to be free, and in order to do that, they cooperated... only for a while.

Outside, the very scope of the world was changing. With the great herald awoken, Nyx's influence descended upon this portion of the world, and a green, hazy darkness swept over it. A full moon was this night, and yet that wasn't what caught their attention.

Where the lab and a school once was, a great mass of a tower arose from the collection of buildings around it. To those in the buildings it consumed, their minds could not comprehend the sudden change, and in fear their latent personae sealed them in a coffin.

To all others, they found themselves staring expectantly at the great chapel at the very top of Tartarus, and the thoughts it inspired did the same to them...

Yet to the poor researchers of this underground Kirijo lab, they had so long labored under the stress of energies similar to the Dark Hour, that they would find no peaceful rest as they were slaughtered.

--

Minato was alone. The rest of his class had all inexplicably turned into coffins. He couldn't quite explain it, nor did he really have to. He exited the school, finding himself moving to Tartarus.

He did not recognize the draw which the great tower had on him.

"It seems as if this one's fate is sealed."

Minato nearly jumped, staring at the black-robed fortune teller who had all of a sudden appeared beside him.

"It is very rare that I draw this card... I suggest you keep it." The grin beneath the shadow of the man's face was hard to conceal... as was his very long nose. "It may come in handy for you. I believe your next route is forward- to the bridge... that is, unless you want this to continue?"

There was a shrug beneath the robes, and Minato blinked. He then took the card. He then looked at it. It was the Major Arcana number twenty- Judgment. He'd known what the Tarot were from his mother... and yet this card, which fitted so well, seemed to call to him.

He looked up, and the man was gone.

Suddenly, Minato would quickly look to the tower, noting that high within a great explosion tore through the side of the building. From the hole that was left, great monsters appeared, chasing around and attacking one another as they floated silently to the ground, destroying buildings in their wake. Minato even recognized one of them... it was the one from his dream... the one that took away his mother and father. Silently, he wished they were alright. And so he moved forward.

--

Deep within the lab's confines, Aigis would find herself completely rebooted. This process had taken her a while... she didn't know why, but would soon find out.

She had taken so long to charge because the cord to the constant feed of power she received was cut apart, deliberately. This sabotage was incomplete- there was a battery in her chair. This was obviously the work of someone who did not know the complete details of her engineering, though she didn't dwell on this fact, because in addition to that she was in a bubble of a room that wouldn't last long. The explosion that she noted just a few moments ago damaged the structural integrity of the building. She had to leave.

"Master... did he get his wish?" Aigis did not know. "I sure hope this makes him happy..." Still there was doubt. Was she supposed to feel this way? Did he want her to feel some other way? He was dismissive of her thoughts earlier...

She finally managed to rise... stretching her joints, making sure they functioned properly. She then began moving out of the room into the darkened corridor.

Corpses. Ten of them. Lining the halls, their blood marring the otherwise immaculate design. Blood stained with great hands marred with claws, spreading the blood everywhere.

She moved down the other hall... five more corpses, people who she once knew... never to act again. Never to move again. She was told what death was... but she never could have imagined the emptiness it made her feel. They would never speak; never allow her the opportunity to hear their thoughts, ever again.

What ends deserved these means?

"Master... I know you want this, but I... I do not!"

The air itself would part at her passing, tears streaming down her face as the decision rang in her mind, and her guns were warming up to be used. She was now in Tartarus, but soon she would be in the streets, fighting the great being that hunted endlessly for its scattered pieces.

"I am an anti-shadow weapon..." Aigis' eyes would narrow and become serious. "Therefore, I will kill the shadow."

--

_Much later..._

The final battle took place on the Moonlight Bridge, spanning one-quarter mile to one of the artificial islands made by the Kirijo group. Aigis and Thanatos endlessly sparring, sword versus guns.

They could not have known that Arisato and his dead wife were driving too quickly down the road in a heavily shielded car... having remained hidden during the slaughter in the lab.

Neither did they know whether it was a stray bullet or a stray sword swing that tore the car apart, causing it to screech off and crash into a metal pole. The man inside found himself impaled on the glass of the front windshield of his car while the pitched battle roared behind him... hands gripping uselessly for the house which he'd left only this morning, vision blurred and incapable of seeing something to his right side...

"Minato..." He would whisper...

Yet he did not know the ghost of the boy known as Minato was right there, staring at him as he died. Tears would stream down his face... though he hardly ever had words, there were no words for the hell he had just witnessed.

His young hand reached forward, grabbing the still-warm hand of his father...

Then he turned around, staring angrily at the monster in his dream. Minato was not afraid of it.

He walked forward as Aigis screeched against the pavement, landing at his feet. She looked up at with a deadened look on her face. "A machine is worthless if it cannot fulfill its purpose..." A small trail of smoke filtered from the fans near her ears.

Minato looked down sadly, still trembling. He looked toward the dark being floating ahead of them, staring at the two with a small amount of curiosity.

"Yet... I can still fulfill mine." Aigis' look hardened as she stared at Minato. Minato stared back. She would reach for him, moving him close to her chest, twitching as she barely had the power to move...

Thanatos moved forward.

Her gun would raise.

Thanatos and Minato were both in the right spot... just as a bullet nearly tore through Minato Arisato's skull.

It was sucked into Minato's persona as Orpheus quickly emerged to protect his charge.

Orpheus and Thanatos battled wildly as Minato's mind soon quelled them, and fainted from the mental energies tearing through him- a battle of epic proportions. Thanatos lost only because of the unfamiliar terrain.

--

Aigis would find herself on top of the boy, who was staring at her with ghostly pale eyes, yet not staring at all. He was shaking with fright and unconscious. Aigis frowned and doubted what she had just done.

Perhaps worse, she felt... alive, the entire time she was taken to the lab and repaired, despite the fact she did not have any contact with any of her damaged systems. She did more than dream- she watched as they screwed her every piece back into working order. And when they extracted all the information she'd just witnessed from her mind, she begged them one quiet whisper: "Please... please reprogram me..."

--

Author's Notes: I would like to close this with a shameless advertisement for my next pet project. I intend on GMing a Persona 3 game with the Big Eyes Small Mouth 3rd edition ruleset. What I'm looking for are role players who are interested in playing. You don't need to know BESM to join, but you do need to know Persona 3. If interested, feel free to drop me an e-mail with the subject "Interested in Persona 3 RP" along with the (canon much preferred over original) character you wish to play.

This story was worked on from June 6 to June 26, originally a short story as an opening to a larger retelling of Persona 3, but that fizzed away in exchange for this story which, I hope, fills in a few plot holes in the game. Thank you for reading; please review.


End file.
